A bit confused about introducing solids

[soulfulsun]

I have an 8-month-old who I only introduced solids to about a week ago (baby-led-weaning). He has fun mushing up the food with his hands, but he doesn't seem much interested in exploring the food with his mouth (will screw up his face whenever it comes into contact with his mouth). Doesn't tend to bring food to his mouth, intentionally, despite loving to shove pretty much everything in his mouth, otherwise (toys, clothes, my hand - generally anything he can get ahold of)

I know the general, NHS-style advice is to introduce solids from around 6 months of age, but I was waiting for baby to exhibit the '5 signs of readiness', which I still don't feel he has. I'm on a lot of natural parenting pages on Facebook, and a lot of the other exclusively breastfeeding mums on those have mentioned introducing solids as late as a year old. Some say 7 months, some say 10 months, some say a year (after all "food before 1 is just for fun) - depending on when their baby seemed "ready".

Took baby to the baby clinic about a week ago, just before introducing solids, and the breastfeeding counsellor was really shocked that I hadn't introduced solids yet (baby was 7 months, then) - so was another infant feeding person. I hadn't realised that there was this urgency around introducing solids at the 6 month mark - I thought it was more a case of it being safe to introduce solids from 6 months, not that. The two women worried me into introducing solids, which is why I did (the very next day). Despite this urgency and belief that you have to introduce solids at 6 months, I genuinely don't think my baby is ready to explore solids. I've watched several baby-led-weaning videos on YouTubr, and the babies seem keen to bring the food to their mouths.

Is it common for BLW to start off this way, with baby completely disinterested in bringing food to mouth? And might by baby just not be 'ready' for solids, despite this NHS-style advice?

P.s I tried to feed baby puréed on one occasion to rule out method (rather than general disinterest in food), and baby behaved the same way.

Thank you.

form 6 months, not that you had to*

Sorry, a few typos in my post - hopefully you can see past them!

They need to learn to chew for speech development so it's not just about nutrition

I have read about people waiting until as late as 12 months to introduce food but have never met anyone who did it I real life. Most babies I know are on solids by 6.5 months even if just playing with the food and not actually swelling much.

What signs of readiness are you waiting for?

How long does he go between feeds (bf or ff) or is it just on demand? I would just keep offering a little of what you're eating. Don't stress or make tons of separate foods for him as most ends up in the bin. Does he sit with you while you eat so he can watch and copy. I found mine went through phases but generally didn't eat in huge quantities until after 12 months.

Just keep offering so he can practice though

@dementedpixie thanks for sharing that. The children of those late eaters seem to have been fine, speech-wise, although I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

@Thesearmsofmine thanks for your response. The last sign I was waiting for was the 'pincer grasp' (ability to hold objects between thumb and forefinger). I was ready to forget that one, but now I'm wondering whether this disinterest in bringing food to mouth means he, indeed, isn't ready?

I would keep trying new foods, maybe a bit more purée until he gets a taste for food? Try purée pears or carrot or sweet potato- perhaps with some breastmilk mixed in. Then if he takes to that I would omit the milk, start doing chunkier textures and then mix up a plate of purée and some whole food for BLW.

I didn't realise pincer grip was necessary for BLW - I understood the first BLW food was to be fist sized so they can grab, and by 8-9 months move to pincer rice and berries for example.

Ahh I see. I would as above just pop him in his chair with a little food to play with each time you eat.

Weaning will give him more opportunity to practice the pincer grip(peas and sweetcorn!), even if he isn’t eating at the moment it isn’t causing him any harm to be sat in his high chair and it means your hands are free to eat.

I found baby led weaning a very slow process and I would not be surprised if he's eating very little this early on. Keep offering food as much as you can- he needs to experience a wide variety of tastes and textures. Even if he only actually 'eats' a very small amount at this stage.

My health visitor used to say 'food before one is hits for fun'. I think from a nutritional standpoint, if he's being breastfed he will be fine but by the time he is one he does need to be eating some solid food as well, so this gives him time to get the hang of it.

I started with my DD at six months and I don't remember feeling like she was really eating anything until around nine months. She certainly wasn't on a sold three meals a day as some purée fed babies are at that age.

Have you read 'Baby Led Weaning' by Gill Rapley? I'd really recommend it and she takes a very gentle approach.

Also @FeelingFlat you're right about the pincer grip, they definitely don't need this for BLW and you're right about food being 'fist sized' to start with. In fact, quite often when they start to eat they will eat something from their fist, down to the top of the hand and learn to drop it and pick it up again so they can eat more. It's fascinating! I'd avoid some of the sweeter tastes you mention though.

Just to add OP try not to overthink it. In a few months you will wonder what you were worrying about.

Weaning can be great fun, I loved weaning my sons, seeing them enjoying new tastes and textures. I did purées with one, a mixed approach with one and baby led weaning with my third and they all enjoy their food!

Sorry, 'food before one is JUST for fun'!

Pincer grip isn’t necessary to start blw. It is normal to take a while before they eat much of anything though, my ds2 took a couple of months to eat more than a mouthful. He’s 3 now and apparently a bottomless pit where food is concerned.

Sounds like you’re making a chore of it tbh. Why can’t he just sit with some veg sticks or pieces of fruit or bread while you eat dinner?

The whole 'food before one is just for fun' is a commonly-held fallacy.

www.smartnutrition.ca/babies-kids/food-one-just-fun-lies-rhyme/

I would try purees. My LO wasn't interested at first, but, that changed as soon as I managed to get some in her mouth. It takes a lot of courage to swallow a solid for the first time- in the beginning my LO wouldn't touch anything that had any lumps at all.

The whole 'food before one' catchphrase isn't accurate, and is just there to help parents who are getting panicky about the amount their baby eats.

6 months isn't the minimum time to introduce solids - it's the reccomended time, so you were perhaps a bit late off the starting block. The important thing is that you're trying to introduce solids now though, and over time the amount your child eats will increase.

If you're breastfeeding, and baby isn't taking much solids (or even to an extent if they are), you should give them a multivitamin for babies. Breast milk will give them most of what they need, but they need a source of iron, as their reserves will start to deplete.

Supplementation is less necessary with formula, as it has added iron, vitamins etc, so you don't need a multivitamin on top.

You'll get there in time.

@ReaganSomerset I don't think anyone takes the 'food before one...' saying to mean food before one is optional, but that it gives the baby time to wean and get used to actually eating and digesting solid food prior to the age of one, by which time they really need to be taking on solid meals. The article you've quoted to does actually state that.

Clearly they do take it literally MoreGin if some parents are delaying solids introduction until their babies are a year old!

Surely a big way of developing pincer grip is to work with food?

@M0reGinPlease

The OP mentioned people who don't actually introduce solids until one, which seems to suggest that some people do take it to mean that food before one is optional.

If it helps, OP, the nhs signs of readiness for food do not include pincer grip - where did you get your information from?

6 months is really the latest solids should be introduced. Leave it later than that and breastfed babies are at risk of iron deficiency. Also,late introduction of allergenic foods put children at risk of developing allergies. Milk will still be their main source of calories but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to start solids alongside. I really don’t understand the obsession with BLW. Just do a mixture of purée s and finger foods so they can explore taste and texture.

The best advice I can give you is to try to relax and not overthink it!

I found BLW quite stressful to begin with, with my first child, but was much less anxious about it second time round. It’s very much a process, and every opportunity you give them to experience tasting, chewing, picking up, splashing etc is a chance to learn for them. But the reality is that often this means they actually consume very little solid food for the first few weeks, if not months, which can be disheartening/worrying for parents.

Don’t sweat about the fact that’s he’s starting a little bit later than most kids - just crack on and let him catch up. It’s the same kind of principle as breast or bottle feeding - don’t obsess over the length of feeds/ml of milk/food consumed, and before you know it he’ll probably be eating and enjoying it.

We had most success with a mixture of cool/crunchy stuff such as melon, pepper sticks and soft pear; and tasty things like little bit of scrambled egg, roast chicken, crumpets and the like. Greek yoghurt went down a treat, and things like peas and Cheerios are good for practising pincer grip. Good luck and don’t beat yourself up!